Miracles Happen Every Day
by Grettigirl123
Summary: It's 1989, Victor Hendricksen's a Police Sergeant in Milwaukee and he's just had his first run in with the Winchesters. After putting John behind bars, Victor sees young Dean have a horrible accident, leaving him gravely injured. What he sees happen when 7 yr old Sam tends to Dean is a miracle, & Victor needs a miracle for his terminally ill 5 yr old daughter. Ability/Sam
1. Chapter 1

_**This crazy little idea just grabbed on and wouldn't let go. FBI agent Victor Hendricksen makes a return appearance, but the setting is back in 1989 and I've made him a police Sergeant in Milwaukee. I gave a little depth and background for Hendricksen's character, albeit a make believe one that is contrary to how he described his life in the show, and I also gave a little something special to the youngest Winchester. I'll have to label this as an AU, and you'll see why when you read it, but I've kept all the players in character with the show.**_

_**As always I own nothing and make no profit.**_

_**I hope you like it. **_

**Miracles Happen Every Day**

_April 15, 1989_

Victor Hendricksen yawned and tried to stretch the kinks out of his back after laying on his old lumpy mattress as he made his way to the coffee maker. If he was lucky, he would have just enough time to have a quick liquid breakfast before Tori, his five year old daughter, would be awake and he prayed that she would have a good day today. He brewed a pot, fixed himself a cup and sat down at the hand-me-down kitchen table. His mother had brought it with her when she moved into his apartment two months ago to help with Tori, saying that her table was a lot better than the card table he had been using.

Money had been tight for the Milwaukee Police Sergeant, especially since his wife of six years decided that she could no longer handle the stress of being a wife and mother and had run out on both of them. Hendricksen knew he had been more dedicated to his job than to his marriage, and he could almost understand and forgive her for throwing in the towel with him. But he could never understand how she could possibly abandon her own daughter, especially in her condition.

Victor shook his head and tried to swallow the bitterness down with his coffee. Some things in this life weren't meant to be understood, he tried to convince himself, and he would instead keep his focus on what was going on with his work.

Yesterday had been a big day for him.

Another criminal had been successfully taken off the streets. This scary son of a bitch had been on a nation-wide crime spree and was wanted in several states for everything from impersonating a federal agent to credit card fraud to grave desecration, and he was even considered a person of interest in a few disappearances. With Victor's team responding to an anonymous tip, John Winchester had been arrested without incident outside a local Shop 'n Go, and was now being held in County Jail until his arraignment. Victor felt better with this guy in custody, as it was his belief that Winchester was some sort of occultist and was pretty deep in Satan worship and black magic. Knowing this creep was finally behind bars where he belongs made Victor relax a little.

But there was one thing that was bothering him.

It had been discovered that Winchester had two young sons; Dean, age eleven and Sam, age seven, who traveled everywhere with him and the boys' whereabouts was still unknown. As much as Victor wanted John Winchester right where he was, the idea of two young boys out there somewhere alone and waiting for their dad to come back made his heart sink. Of course Winchester wasn't talking at all about the whereabouts of his boys, even when the police offered to contact a family member to go pick them up. This made Victor assume that there most likely was no family, and that it would only be a matter of time before Winchester's psycho cult members would have the boys in their clutches, and that thought alone made his skin crawl. His team had to act fast and find the boys quickly if they were to prevent that atrocity from happening.

He had just reached the bottom of his cup of coffee when he heard a soft voice at the kitchen doorway.

"'Morning, Daddy." Tori greeted him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stood in the doorway wearing her 'Hello Kitty' pajamas and holding Winky, her stuffed dog.

Victor smiled at her and rose from the table. "Good morning to you, baby girl. How are you doing today?" He was in front of her in two long strides and scooped her up in his arms.

"She had a good night last night." His mother, Alice, offered as she made her way past them both and headed toward the kitchen counter. "She stirred a couple of times but otherwise finally got a good night's sleep. Oh good, I see you made coffee." Alice retrieved a mug from the cupboard and poured herself some. "What time did you finally come in last night? I went to bed at ten o'clock and you still hadn't come home yet."

Victor gave Tori a quick kiss on the cheek and set her back on her feet. "Yeah," he answered, "It was a pretty late night…but a successful one." He smiled down at his daughter. "We caught another 'baddie'." Victor was careful about the language he used in front of her, especially about his work. Tori was well aware that her dad was a police sergeant, but he tried to protect her from knowing just how dangerous his job could be.

The conversation was interrupted when the telephone rang. It was the station calling, and Victor hoped they had good news concerning the Winchester boys. As it turned out, a search of John's car had turned up a receipt from a motel just a few blocks from where he had been arrested, and there was already a squad car heading over there to see if the boys could be found. Victor instructed the dispatcher to have the responding officer stay a safe distance away and wait for him in the motel parking lot.

"Sorry girls, but I've gotta go." Victor said as he hung up the phone, grabbed his jacket and headed toward the door. "I'm hoping I'll be back for lunch, but I'll call if that turns out not to be the case. I just got the lead I've been waiting for."

Tori looked up at him with tired eyes. "Bye, Daddy. I love you."

Victor sighed as he realized that in his haste he had almost forgotten to kiss his daughter goodbye. He went back over to her, kneeled down and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Bye, sweetheart. Daddy loves you more than anything. You have a good day, and no giving Gram a hard time about taking your medicine, you hear me?"

Tori nodded, and Alice stood behind her, placing her hands on Tori's shoulders. "Don't you worry none about us, we'll be fine. We're hoping to feel well enough for a little walk in the park today. You just go finish your business and maybe we'll see you at lunch."

Victor smiled. "Ma, you're a Godsend. What would I do without you?"

Alice smirked back at her son. "I shudder to think about it." She joked.

Within the hour, Hendricksen's car was parked in the 'Ridgemont Motel' parking lot and he was standing alongside his one of his men. After being showed a picture, the motel manager confirmed that Winchester had checked in three days ago with two boys, and to his knowledge they hadn't yet checked out. He gave the officers a key to the room and asked that they use it as opposed to breaking the door down. The motel room was on the third level, the entrances were from the outside of the motel and each unit had only one door in or out. Hendricksen and his officer stood outside the motel room entrance and were ready for anything as he knocked on the door, identifying himself as a police officer and ordering the boys to come outside. After waiting a few minutes and not getting any response, Hendricksen used his key and went inside.

What he saw horrified him.

The window on the far side of the motel room had been opened and the two boys were dangling out of it, three stories up, trying to reach a fire escape. Neither of them was tall enough to safely reach the ladder, and would have to practically leap from the window and hope to grab onto it in order to climb down.

"No, stop! Come back inside!" Hendricksen screamed as he raced to reach the boys before they fell. He reached the smaller one, Sam, first and grabbed his arm, pulling him back inside. Just as he reached for Dean, the boy let go of the window pane, stretching his arms out to grab onto the fire escape ladder.

Dean's fingers grazed the metal rungs as Hendricksen looked on in horror, and for a brief moment he thought the boy was going to be able to hold on and be okay. But the boy didn't grasp tight enough to the rungs and his fingers slipped off, causing him to fall backwards and plummet to the ground below.

Hendricksen's eyes went wide in shock as he witnessed the accident. His stomach did a sickening twist inside and he thought he was going to vomit. Almost immediately the young boy he had by the arm let out an agonizing scream as he realized what had just happened. Frantically Sam flung his body to try to escape Victor's hold, but he continued to hold the boy tight and pulled Sam toward him, pushing the boy's face into his stomach to prevent him from seeing the horrifying sight out the window.

Sam swung his arms and punched Victor's body as hard as he could to make him let go.

"No! Lemee go, please! I have to get to my brother, he's hurt!" Sam cried into Victor's jacket. Victor reached down, lifted Sam by the mid-section and swiftly carried him out the motel room door. He passed the other officer, who was already on his radio calling for an ambulance and was rushing back out the door to get down to Dean. Victor carried the screaming, flailing boy down the three flights of stairs back and took him to the corner of the building, stopping just before he reached the scene of the accident. He placed Sam back down but held him by the arms so he couldn't break free and run to his brother.

"Just try to calm down and let the police man help your brother." Victor said as he tried to get Sam to look at him. "You can't go to him now; you'd be in the way."

Sam continued to squirm. "Please let me go!" He begged. "You don't understand. I have to get to him. I have to see if he's okay. He fell a long way down and he could be really hurt! I have to help him!"

Victor's comrade was at Dean's body and was attempting CPR. Victor couldn't see much, but could already tell by the position of the boy's neck and head that the outcome didn't hold much hope. From what he could see, Dean's neck appeared to be broken.

"Carlton, you getting anything?"

After getting no response from the chest compressions and mouth to mouth, Carlton stopped and looked over at Hendricksen, shaking his head with tears in his eyes. Victor took a deep, stuttering breath and bowed his head.

Sam looked back and forth between the officers in confusion. "Why did he stop?" He asked. "Is Dean all better now? Can I go see him?"

Victor tried with everything he had to control his emotions as he spoke to the child. He could hear the siren of the ambulance as it pulled into the motel parking lot. Carlton ran to meet the ambulance and inform the EMT of what had just taken place.

"Sam," he began, "Let's go sit over here for a minute. There's something we need to talk about." Sam reluctantly allowed Victor to lead him to a run-down picnic table under a tree on a small patch of grass. "Listen, there's nothing more that can be done to help Dean." He explained. "He took a really bad fall, and hit the ground really hard." Victor managed one last deep breath before he said the dreaded words. "Dean's heart stopped beating and he stopped breathing. Your brother isn't alive anymore. He died."

Victor braced himself for a very strong reaction from the child, but instead of becoming hysterical, Sam remained completely calm. Victor blamed Sam's response as shock. Sam nodded slowly, wiped the tears from his eyes and asked a very peculiar question.

"How long?" Sam asked as he cocked his head to the side, squinting from the sunlight as he looked up at the officer.

Victor shook his head in confusion. "Do you mean how long has he been gone?"

Sam nodded again. "Yeah, how long has his heart not been beating anymore?"

Completely stunned by the strange response from the little boy, Victor looked at his watch. "I'm not sure. Maybe seven minutes or so?"

"Oh, okay." Sam answered. He looked back toward Dean's body. "Is it okay if I go over and sit by him for a while?"

Victor was apprehensive about the idea. His brother's death didn't seem to be registering with Sam. He seemed to be much more upset earlier when he had thought that Dean was hurt, but now the fact that Dean was dead wasn't getting any reaction.

"Sam, do you understand what I've told you about your brother? He's not going to wake up."

Sam nodded. "Yes, I know. I'm seven years old. I've known what dead means for a long time. I just really, _really_ need to see him _right now_. It's very important."

The boy's demeanor was so incredibly composed that it was alarming to Victor. Something was very off here. He had never heard of a child reacting this calmly to a death before.

"Okay," he replied. "You can sit with him, but only for a minute."

Victor led Sam over just as the EMT from the ambulance had checked Dean for any signs of life. Finding none, he was about to remove Dean's body from the scene. Victor told him and Carlton to give the boys a few moments of privacy, and led them to the other side of the parking lot, giving them some space.

The EMT listened intently as Carlton explained what had taken place. Hendricksen could hear a couple questions being asked to him, and he tried his best to concentrate on them but somehow he couldn't take his eyes off the boys.

Sam kneeled down beside Dean and touched his chest. He pushed aside his brother's unbuttoned light flannel shirt and let the palms of his hands rest on the navy blue tee shirt underneath. For a moment it looked as though Sam was going to imitate what he had seen the policeman doing a few minutes before and attempt CPR, but he never pushed down. He just rested both hands flat for a moment, closing his eyes in concentration.

Hendricksen squinted at the sight before him, wondering what Sam was doing. He turned to the other men and was about to draw their attention to it when Sam stopped and sat back against his heels. Victor thought that perhaps Sam had been trying to feel for a heartbeat and had stopped when he didn't find one. It was pathetic to watch. This poor child had just lost his big brother. Tears welled in the Sergeant's eyes. He then realized that he was being spoken to.

"We're going to need you to fill out a full accident report on this once we get to the hospital." The EMT directed. "We have to know exactly what happened, especially where we weren't here to witness any of it."

"Yeah, sure." Victor answered. "Just give me a few minutes here first. I need to make sure the victim's little brother is taken care of."

"Sure thing, Sarge." The EMT looked at the boys across the parking lot. "Man, that just breaks my heart."

"I know it does." Victor sighed. "I have a feeling those two boys didn't have much except each other."

"Yeah, and now we have to go tell their father what happened." Carlton added. "I can't even imagine what his reaction's gonna…What in the HELL?!"

Victor's head snapped up to look at his comrade, and found him staring slack jawed at the boys and pointing. Victor followed his eyes and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Dean Winchester was moving his arms and legs and was regaining consciousness.

The three men rushed to the boys, the EMT dropped to his knees beside Dean and instructed the boy to lay still. He then began checking his vital signs, which had been non-existent a few moments before. Shockingly, he had a strong pulse and heartbeat, and was breathing easily on his own. The EMT looked up at Victor. "I've never seen anything like this before in my life!" He exclaimed.

Carlton stared down in amazement. "And even if his heart somehow started up again, how in the Hell is he moving his arms and legs like that? His neck is definitely broken!"

Victor stood silently next to Sam, studying the youngest Winchester intently. Sam was staring down at his brother as the EMT continued to work on him. "Sam," he asked. "What happened?"

Sam looked up at Hendricksen with huge eyes. He shook his head as he tried to explain. "I….I was just talking to him. I was just telling him I loved him and…..and he started to make a noise and wake up."

Victor looked back at Dean, who was lying still but had his eyes open and was looking around while the EMT poked and prodded, looking for injuries. Seemingly exasperated, The EMT sat back against his heels and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't find anything wrong with him, aside from some pulled neck muscles and some bruised ribs."

"Great," Dean groaned. "So, can I sit up now?" He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at the men staring down at him with their mouths open, then looked up at his brother. "You okay, Sammy?"

Victor brought his hands up to his head and held them there as if he were trying to prevent it from exploding off his shoulders. "He's fine, Son! YOU'RE the one who was hurt really bad. In fact….." He stopped himself from finishing the sentence, trying to keep in mind he was speaking to an eleven year old child. He held his hand up in a halting position before covering his mouth, keeping his composure and trying to figure out what his response was going to be. "….In fact, I'm very surprised, very happy, but surprised to see how well you are doing right now."

Dean smiled, "Yeah, well, I'm a pretty tough son of a bi…I mean, gun, for my age." Sam laughed out loud at his brother's comment, which made Dean's smile even bigger. Sam then dropped down in front of Dean and wrapped his arms around his neck as he buried his face in Dean's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're better, Dean. I was so worried."

Dean brought his arm around Sam's back, wincing at the pain in his ribs and neck. "Thanks, Sammy, just ease up on the squeezing, 'kay?"

Victor could tell right away by his demeanor that this older boy was a chip off the old block. Even at his tender age, Dean was already taking on the traits of his father. He also seemed to enjoy putting on a tough act for his younger brother's benefit. Or maybe it wasn't an act.

"Kay," Sammy answered, then turned his head to say something in Dean's ear. All Victor's senses zeroed in on Sam's lips and voice as the boy whispered the words.

"Seven minutes."

It was barely audible, but just loud enough for Victor to hear.

Dean took a deep breath and quickly looked up at the men, his eyes meeting with Victor's. Dean gave Sam a quick nod and brought his eyes back and forth between Sam and Victor, silently cautioning his younger brother that the officer was listening. Sam got the message and instantly fell silent.

Victor's eyes narrowed as he contemplated what Sam's words had meant. A sinking feeling filled his gut as his police instincts were telling him that something was going on right in front of him that he wasn't quite grasping. There was something definitely off about this whole thing, and under normal circumstances perhaps Victor could have figured it out, but this whole rollercoaster ride of emotions; watching Dean fall, having him pronounced dead, telling Sam and then watching Dean wake up again had just been too much for the Sergeant to handle all in a matter of less than ten minutes' time.

The EMT stood and tried to figure out what their next move was. They obviously still needed to bring Dean to the hospital for x-rays and tests to be sure there were no internal injuries. At first Dean argued with them, saying that he felt fine and didn't need to go. He said he could call his uncle and have him take care of him and Sam, but his arguments fell on deaf ears. Carlton did take the name and phone number of the uncle and was going to call him as soon as they got to the hospital. As the boys were both placed in the back of the ambulance, one as a patient and one as a passenger, Carlton and Hendricksen returned to their police cars to follow them there.

Once Victor got back to his radio, the dispatcher informed him that his mother had called. Tori was running a fever and had been taken to the emergency room. A wave of panic and terror washed over Victor as he placed the receiver to his lips and responded. "I'm on my way there now."

All the unbelievable events from earlier took a back seat for Victor the moment he crossed the emergency room entrance. Carlton had assured him that he would handle the boys, and that Victor needed to be with his daughter now.

Alice was waiting for him and led him to the small curtained off area where Tori was being examined. She had been given an I.V with a fever reducer and some fluids and was feeling a little bit better. Tori smiled weakly as she saw him.

"Hi Daddy." She said faintly.

Tears filled Victor's eyes as he looked down at his baby. She looked so small and pale.

"Hi angel. Don't you worry, the doctors will fix you right up."

The doctor called Victor out in the hallway to speak with him. He greeted him with a pained smile.

"We have the fever under control now, and it doesn't seem to be related to any major infections this time." The doctor explained, "But it's just another one of the symptoms related to the Leukemia, and I know you've been down this road before with her."

Victor closed his eyes and methodically nodded. Yes, he had been down this road before, and he wished so badly that he could get off it. Tori had been diagnosed with the disease two years ago, shortly after her third birthday. She had been through the radiation and chemotherapy, even a few blood transfusions, but they just hadn't been enough to stop the Leukemia from coming back. Her only hope now was to find a bone marrow donor, and the search so far for a match had been unsuccessful.

The doctor continued. "We'll get her back on her feet and she should be able to come home with you in a few hours. Just keep her rested and hydrated, and make sure she continues to get her antibiotics."

"We will, doctor, thank you." Victor answered.

"Did you have any other questions?"

Yeah, he had questions. Why was this happening? How could God do this? How was he supposed to just sit there as his little girl fought for her life?

"No."

The doctor patted Victor on the arm. "I know this is hard for you, but try not to give up hope. I've seen kids pull through this before. Tori's a tough little girl. Miracles happen every day, don't lose your faith."

Victor nodded and tried to smile at the doctor. As the doctor made his way down the corridor to his next patient, Victor found a coffee machine and watched as the cup dropped and filled with the steaming fluid. He took his cup and sat down for a moment to drink and better compose himself before he returned to Tori and his mom.

He thought about the events that had taken place earlier in the day as he sipped his coffee. 'Now there was a miracle', he thought. That boy was dead. Two trained professionals had examined him and had both pronounced him dead at the scene. And yet, he was somewhere in this hospital, alive and well, most likely chatting away with his brother and waiting for his uncle to come meet them here.

There was really no explanation for what had happened…or was there?

It all started to flood back to Hendricksen as he recalled bits of conversations and began to piece things together.

"_I have to help him_!"

"_I just really, really need to see him right now. It's very important_."

He thought about the way Sam had placed his hands on his brother's chest and closed his eyes tight.

He thought of how Dean had escaped a three story fall without any serious injuries, despite the twisted position of his head and neck initially when he had landed.

It had all miraculously been taken away.

"_Seven minutes_."

Suddenly, a light went on.

"Miracles happen every day."

Victor's pulse began to race as a theory crawled its way into his head. Every fiber in his being told him that his idea was impossible, but he couldn't shake it out of his mind. He threw the rest of his coffee in the trash and hastily returned to his daughter's cubicle. Tori had fallen asleep and was resting comfortably.

"There you are," Alice greeted with a whisper. "I wondered where you'd disappeared to."

"Mom," Victor answered softly. "I have to go do something."

Alice raised her eyebrows. "Now?" She asked.

"Yes. I know it sounds terrible, but it's really important that I speak with someone immediately. I can't explain it now, but it's urgent. I have to go. I'll see you both back at home, okay?"

Alice sighed but nodded. "Yes, okay, but you're explaining what this is all about the minute you get home. You're making me nervous."

Victor rushed back to his car and immediately got on his radio. "This is Sergeant Hendricksen. Make sure no one gets in to see or speak to John Winchester before I get back there. It's imperative that I be the first to reach him."

Miracles. Until today Victor Hendricksen had never witnessed one. He'd heard about them in the news and in movies, but had never actually seen one before. Oh, how he had so desperately prayed over and over again for one to come heal his baby girl's illness, only to come to the realization that most likely one was not going to happen. Miracles didn't happen for poor shmucks like him. He had no idea where he could even hope to find one…..

Until now.

He still wasn't completely sure, but he had a pretty solid lead. And he would definitely be following it to get some questions answered.

And he had a strong feeling those answers could be found in the small hands John Winchester's youngest son.

TBC…..

_**Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I hope you like it so far and please take just a moment to let me know what you think. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you to the reviewer, Winka, who wasn't signed in so I couldn't message, and to Efira, who had the message option turned off. I appreciate your kind words very much. **_

Victor arrived at the station twenty five minutes after leaving the hospital. He was surprised to see Carlton there waiting for him.

"I thought you'd still be at the hospital?" Hendricksen greeted.

Carlton nervously scrubbed at his jaw. "Well," he explained, "We ran into a bit of a problem with the uncle."

Hendricksen's face muscles tightened. "What kind of problem?"

Carlton shoved his fists into his jacket pockets. "The guy shows up and identifies himself as Robert Winchester, even shows us a passport that proves it, so I let him in to sit with the boys while they were waiting for the radiation room to be available for the kid's x-rays. Both kids were really happy to see him, huge smiles on their faces so I didn't see any reason to be suspicious or wary of the situation, but when the technician went in the waiting area to get them, they were gone." Carlton's hands came out of his jacket as he made a sweeping gesture, "They had just disappeared. I tell ya, I've had some messed up days on this job, but this one takes the cake. I mean, why would the uncle take off with the kids like that, especially when one of them had just taken a nose-dive from a three story window and had a jolt so bad that it stopped his heart for a while?" Carlton shook his head. "Seems real risky to me."

'_It's not risky at all if you know for sure the kid's been healed.' _Victor thought to himself. '_This is all actually starting to make sense now.'_

"I'm assuming you had the foresight to put an APB out on this Robert Winchester and the two boys."

Carlton shook his head again. "Well, to be honest I'm not sure we have any reason to." He answered. "We called the uncle to come take the kids, and that's just what he did. I, for one, would have definitely stayed and had the boy checked out, but he wasn't under any obligation to do it." Carlton shrugged his shoulders. "Am I right?"

Hendricksen stared at the floor for a minute and then sighed and nodded his head. He decided to get on with questioning Winchester before too many miles were put between him and the boys.

"No one's been in to see or talk to John Winchester yet, right?"

Carlton nodded. "Right. He doesn't know a thing about what took place today. I got word that you wanted to be the first and only one to tell him." He then pointed to a door in the corridor. "I did take the liberty of having him transferred to 'Interrogation Room One' for you, though."

"Great, thanks."

Victor looked toward the door to the interrogation room with apprehension. He stopped at the coffee machine and prepared two cups, took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and then entered the room.

John Winchester looked up from the chair in which he was seated with his hands cuffed to a ring secured to a table in front of him. "It's about damned time." He growled, "I've been sitting here for twenty minutes already!"

Victor almost smiled, as this was exactly the type of remark he was expecting from the Winchester patriarch. He brought the coffee to John and placed it on the table along with two sugar packets and two creamers. "Yeah, sorry about that, but I brought you a peace offering." He then uncuffed one of John's hands so he could bring it to his mouth to drink.

Victor sat down on the other side of the table, across from John. He watched as John prepared his coffee with one cream, one sugar and took a gulp from it. John then returned the cup to the table and folded his hands together. "Well," he questioned "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Victor sighed. "I'm afraid there really is no pleasure to what I have to tell you, John. I've got some bad news for you."

John eyes searched Victor's for a moment, looking to see if he was being sincere or if this was some sort of trap. "What's that?"

Victor took the motel receipt that had been found in John's car from his pocket and placed it down in front of John. "We found where you were keeping your boys."

Every muscle in John's face tightened, but he remained silent, still examining Victor's expressions.

Victor took a deep breath. This was the part he had been dreading. What he was about to do was one of the lowest things anyone could do to a parent, even a psychopath like Winchester, but it was the only way he could think of that may lead him to the answers he was looking for. He continued his speech.

"So I went to the motel to check on the boys. I knocked on the door and identified myself as a police officer before I opened the door with the key the manager gave me. Your boys were both hanging out the window, balancing on the ledge of the building."

John gasped as a look of horror flooded over him. He sat up straighter in his seat.

Victor continued. "I ran to the window and grabbed your youngest boy, Sam, by the arm and dragged him back inside, but just as I was about to grab Dean he pushed himself off the ledge and tried to grab the rungs of the fire escape ladder."

John's mouth fell open as all the color drained from his face. "…..Tried?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

Victor looked down at the table as he nodded his head. "Yeah, tried. He missed the ladder and fell three stories to the ground."

John flew to his feet, kicking his chair over behind him. Having his hand cuffed to the table prevented him from reaching his full height, so he was slightly hunched. "Jesus, Hendricksen!" His eyes frantically sought some sort of sign from Victor that his boy was somehow alright. Not being able to read him, John barked out. "Well, what happened? Is Dean okay?... Say something for Christ's sake!"

"He was taken to the hospital. They think the fall may have broken his neck. I'm sorry, but it was a very bad fall, but I want you to know that I did everything I could to reach him. I just never expected him to throw himself off the ledge like that." Victor answered softly as his gaze left the table and fixed on the man across from him. He watched as all the air and lifeblood appeared to disintegrate from John as he helplessly stood there, absorbing what he had been told.

Then as if a light had gone on in John's brain, he returned Victor's gaze. "Where's my youngest son now?" He asked.

Victor felt his heart skip a beat. "Sam's fine. Pretty shaken up, but fine." He took a deep breath. "He _really_ wanted to be near his brother, but I thought the scene may be too much for a seven year old to handle, so I kept him clear of Dean. Plus the paramedic needed room to do his job….."

"You stupid son of a bitch!" John roared as his fist crashed down against the table. Then, as if realizing that he needed to remain calm, John quieted. He righted the fallen chair behind him and returned to his seat. "Okay, I want Sam to be able to see Dean….._immediately_! You had no right to keep him away from his brother. Those boys are very close, if Sam wants to sit with his brother, then I demand that you let him! It's important that they be together, even if Dean's not well."

Victor stood from his seat as he paced a bit. "You know, that's exactly what little Sam kept saying. That it was really important that he saw his brother, that he needed to be with him."

"Well you should have let him…."

"I DID!" Victor growled.

John stared at Victor in confusion for a moment, and then the look was replaced with hope. "What?" He asked.

Victor stared straight into John's eyes, keeping his tone controlled and calm. "I did let Sam sit with Dean. Against my better judgment and only because Sam was so insistent that he be allowed to. I actually didn't tell you the whole story, Winchester. Your boy was a lot more than hurt after the fall. His heart had stopped. Dean died at the scene, the fall broke his neck, he stopped breathing and he was pronounced dead."

A line of sweat rolled down the side of John's face, his chest heaved up and down and his body was visibly shaking. Every ounce of strength John had was being used to not completely fall to pieces as he heard the words coming from Victor. "So what are you telling me? Are you now saying my boy is dead?"

"No, Winchester, I'm saying your boy _was_ dead, as in, past tense." Victor ceased his pacing and sat down in his chair. "Little Sam was fighting me tooth and nail to get to Dean. Kept trying to squirm out of my grip, begging me to let him go, anything he could think of to get to his brother's side. After a while I felt so bad for the poor kid that I let him go sit with Dean for a few minutes before the paramedic took his body away. A few minutes later, Dean was regaining consciousness. It was nothing short of a miracle." Victor gave a somewhat dramatic pause as he took a sip from his coffee.

"The paramedic checked him out and couldn't believe his eyes, Christ, none of us could. Dean had a few bruised ribs and the broken neck turned out to be some pulled neck muscles, but otherwise he seemed fine. Hell, he even got up and walked to the ambulance, complaining that he had to go in the first place." He again held his gaze on John as he spoke. "Like I said, nothing short of a miracle."

John's breathing calmed down some as he used his free hand to wipe the sweat from his face. Unlike Victor, John seemed to avoid any eye contact as he slowly nodded at what the sergeant was telling him.

"Thank God." He whispered.

Victor smiled knowingly and leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table in front of him. "Not exactly." He quipped.

John glanced up. "What did you say?"

"I don't think you need to be thanking God for this one. See, I saw what happened, what _really_ happened. Sam didn't think I was watching him, but I was. I saw the whole thing." Victor rose from his seat and walked to the other side of the table. He squatted down next to John, closing any space between him and his prisoner. John's entire body tensed as he sat frozen, staring straight ahead. "I know the truth. I know what your son can do, what he's capable of…

"…And we need to talk."

TBC

_**Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter. I hope you liked it and can take just a quick moment to leave a review. **_


	3. Chapter 3

John gave a sideways glance at Hendricksen as he crouched down next to him. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied.

Hendricksen gave a knowing smile. "Yeah you do. In fact you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. I'm talking about your youngest and his…..talent. I'm talking about how he can put his hands on a dead body and make it sit up and crack jokes. I'm talking about his ability to heal."

John shook his head slowly and stared at Hendricksen in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me." He countered. "Do you hear what you're saying? What you're suggesting is impossible! You're insane, there's no such thing as the power to heal!"

Victor nodded. "You know, you may be right about the insane part, I've been known to go off the rails every now and then, and yesterday I would've said the exact same thing if someone had said this to me. But, I know what I saw. Without a doubt in my mind, I know what I saw, and I_ saw_ one of your sons heal the other one."

"How?" John demanded, his voice becoming much louder now. "How can a seven year old possibly have any idea how to do such a thing? Christ, Sam just learned to tie his own shoes six months ago!"

"I don't know how, and to be honest I don't give a damn how he does it, I just know he can."

John sighed and sat back further in his seat. "You don't know a damned thing."

Victor stood and leaned into John's face. "Oh yeah? Well, answer me this. If your boy has no healing powers, then why was it so important to you that Sam be allowed to see his brother? I mean, You've just been told that Dean's taken a near-fatal fall, probably broke his neck, been rushed to the hospital and the first thing that comes out of your mouth is for Sam to be able to be with him?" Victor moved so close to John that he could feel the warm air of John's breath on his face. "Seems a little odd, doesn't it? I mean, why would you want Sam to see that? The sight of his brother lying there like that could scar him for the rest of his life. Hell, I tried to protect the kid from it myself, and I'm not his father."

John stared straight ahead. "You'd only said Dean was injured, I didn't realize he was gravely injured when I told you to let Sam see him."

"That's a line of garbage, Winchester, and you know it!" Victor hollered.

John finally turned and faced Hendricksen, a vicious snarl on his lips. "No it's not! Look, this whole conversation is insane and stupid! There are no powers, there are no 'healers', there's nothing I'm hiding. You've got a serious problem, mister. You need help."

Pure rage could be seen flooding through Victor's body as he stood over John. His hands clenched into tight fists, his upper body swaying slightly as if he were about to attack, his breathing became labored and unsteady. "Yeah," he stated, keeping his voice low and cool under the extreme pressure in his body. "You're right I've got a problem, and that problem is you. But," He added. "Don't worry, because I'm about to make myself your problem. See, I still know what I saw, despite what you've said, and I won't rest until I prove it. So what that means, Winchester, is that I'm about to the shadow your boys see in the dark. I'm gonna stick on them like glue. You've been pretty good at keeping them hidden, but there won't be anyplace left for them to hide now that I've got you behind bars."

John's eyes widened with both anger and fear. "Why?" he asked, "Why are you doing this? Those boys didn't do anything to you. You've got me already. Leave them alone."

Victor's tone softened a little as the rage began to subside. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Victor knew that the hate and anger he was feeling wasn't intended for Winchester. It was the result of years of watching his little angel, Tori, struggle with the deadly disease, and realizing that, unless something miraculous happened for her, she would ultimately lose her battle. He took a few deep breaths and continued.

"I can't."

Now it was again John's turn to become angry. "Like Hell you can't. You could just leave them be and go on with your own life…."

"My own life?" Victor injected. "It's because of what's going on in my life that I need your son."

John shook his head. "What does that mean? You're not making any sense."

"Why should I have to make any sense to you? You're just a Satan worshipping, cultist son of a bitch!"

John snorted in disgust at Victor's accusation. "You are way off base with that. Those crazy charges you have against me won't stick, and you know it! If you stopped for a minute and looked at the information, you would see that I help people. _That's_ what I do! You're the one talking about magic healing powers and bringing people back from the dead."

Victor returned to his seat across from John and took his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. He plucked a small photograph from it and set it down on the table, facing John. He stared John in the eyes as he spoke.

"So now you help people, huh? Well, I'll give you a chance to show me how you help people." He pointed down to the picture. "You see that little girl right there?" he began, "That's my daughter. She just turned five in October."

John glanced at the photo. He could tell something was wrong by Victor's demeanor, and it didn't take him long to put the pieces together. He took a deep breath and asked the inevitable question.

"What's wrong with her?"

Victor's jaw tightened. Staring at the photo he answered. "Leukemia. She's had it for over two years now, since she was just three years old."

John blew out a breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Victor didn't seem to hear him. "Doctors say she needs a bone marrow transplant. It'll be a long shot that she finds a match, since no one in our family or friends match her type, but that's really her only hope, and even then there's a chance her body could reject it."

John looked down again at the photo. The rage he had felt toward Victor a moment ago washed away and was quickly replaced with pity. John really felt for him, he did, but there was still no way he was going to risk exposing Sam. For even though Victor could claim he had witnessed Sam's ability, it would be impossible to prove, and John planned to keep it that way. "I'm sorry, man. Life can be really unfair."

"Unfair? Yeah, you're right, it is unfair. It's unfair that my little girl suffers every day with pain, illness, this disease that's just pumping through her body. And what's really unfair is that I'm left watching her get sicker and sicker every step of the way, and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it." Hendricksen lowered his head. "Every morning I get up and wonder if this will be the day we hear from the foundation that they've found a marrow match for Tori, and every night I go to bed and hope that it will be tomorrow…..hoping my baby can hold out for that long. I thank God every night when I go to bed for giving me another day with her, even if it's another day spent in pain for her. Then I feel horrible and selfish for feeling that way. Some days I think maybe it would be better for her if God just came and took her, just so she can finally be free from the pain. Then I feel even more horrible for thinking that way." A stray tear found its way down Victor's cheek as he spoke.

Victor cleared the sorrow from his throat as he seemed to regain his composure a bit. He quickly swiped his hand across his eyes, wiping the tears, and sat straighter in his chair. "But, hey, I guess I'll just have to deal with his, right? I mean, why am I even bothering to tell you any of this? After all, there's nothing you can do about it. It must just be _other_ people that you help." Victor stood and pushed his chair in closer to the table. "I owe you an apology for losing my self-control. Guess that wasn't very professional of me." He walked to the door of the room and placed his hand on the door knob. He turned his head and faced John. "I'll have one of the officers take you back to your cell."

John didn't respond to Victor. He simply stared down at the table. Victor opened the door and left the room.

Victor spent the following two hours continuing his paperwork on both John Winchester and his sons' cases. He had contacted his mother, Alice, about 40 minutes ago and Tori was finally feeling well enough for the doctors to release her. By now they should both be home. Victor's plan was to call it an early night and head home himself to help take care of Tori. Chances are, she was going to have a rough night. Besides, the words on the papers in front of Victor were beginning to swirl together, and he knew that he would be much more productive in the morning.

Victor still strongly believed that what he had witnessed earlier that day with Sam and Dean had been the work of some sort of healing power. There was really no other explanation for it. However, at this point he hadn't made any headway with Winchester and he didn't have any idea where the boys or the uncle were. It seemed that perhaps all hope was lost in harnessing the last true miracle he could think of, as little Sam Winchester had slipped past him and out of his sight.

Feeling the now familiar ache in his heart, Victor stood from his desk and took his jacket from the back of his chair. As he was putting his arms in the sleeves, the door to his office opened and Carlton poked his head in.

"Sorry to bother you, Sarge, but I just got a note from the guard over in block four. Seems your presence is being requested over there. I thought I'd let you know, but if you want I can just tell them that you already left."

Victor sighed. It was always something that prevented him from leaving when he was supposed to. "Man," he complained. "What is it now? Do you know what they want?"

What Carlton said next would make Victor's heart begin pounding in his chest.

"No real details. Just that John Winchester is asking to speak with you."

TBC

_**As always, thank you for taking the time to read. I really appreciate it very much and I hope you are enjoying it so far. Please take a quick moment and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you. **_


	4. Chapter 4

John Winchester sat on the cot in his cell with his back leaned against the wall. Today had been a tough one and he was mentally exhausted. He closed his eyes against the throbbing inside his head and thought back to the second conversation he'd had with Hendricksen.

Now, John typically wasn't known for being a bleeding heart. In fact, he had a reputation in the hunting world as being particularly cold and emotionless. He did what he had to do to survive, and there were no second guesses, no looking back, no grey areas. He kept his work impartial and objective, and if that made him cold in some people's eyes, then so be it.

However, John Winchester did have one soft spot…..the safety of his boys. It was the one weakness he had, and the one thing in his life that was more important than anything else. As a parent, there was nothing he wouldn't do, no boundaries he wouldn't cross, nothing he wouldn't lay down in an instant for his children. It was his job to protect them from any and all harm.

So, the million dollar question of the day was, why had he let his emotions get in the way and agree to help this police sergeant who he didn't know and had been nothing but a dick to him?

Maybe it was because John knew the pain of losing a loved one. Maybe the agonizing pain from the fleeting moment when he thought Dean may have died from the fall was enough to make him sympathize with the poor bastard just long enough to want to save him from feeling the same kind of pain. Maybe somewhere in the back of his mind he actually was grateful to Hendricksen for allowing Sam to sit with Dean, ultimately leading to Dean's recovery. Maybe it was the little girl in the photograph, an angel dropped straight from Heaven, and knowing that if he didn't do something to help her that Heaven was certain to call her back.

Maybe it was nothing more than a moment of weakness.

Whatever the case, John had somehow decided to call another face to face with Victor and agree to help him.

Of course, there would be certain conditions….

The conditions were very straight forward and very simple. John and Victor were to meet Bobby and the boys in a neutral area that was out in the open and could be seen from all directions. That way there wouldn't be any surprises waiting for them. John would be allowed to check out the place first, and then have Bobby come out with the boys. Hendricksen was to be unarmed, and this condition was non-negotiable. Victor's mother would meet them there with Tori, and then Sam would be allowed to come to them and tend to her. After the meeting, Hendricksen and his family would go in one direction and the Winchester family would go in the other direction. Hendricksen was never to speak of them or of how Tori recovered to anyone, and he was never to try to locate or contact them again…for any reason whatsoever.

Victor had listened to John's suggestion and conditions with pleading and desperate anticipation. He eagerly nodded and agreed to anything and everything John offered, and it was painfully obvious to John that Victor was sincere with his promises to adhere to all the stipulations of the meeting. After John had finished his proposal, Victor couldn't help but show some curiosity.

"So, it's all true?" he began. "Sam really does have the power to heal people?"

John slowly nodded and sighed. "I remember the very first time he used it. He couldn't have been any more than three. We were eating breakfast when a bird flew into the window and broke its neck. The boys were upset, naturally, so I went inside to find a small box so we could bury the bird. By the time I came back, the bird was sitting on Sammy's lap, chirping away. I stared at it in disbelief while it hopped a few times and then flew away, healthy and pain free. I thought maybe it had just knocked itself out and didn't think too much about it after that, until about six months later when we were driving and a dog came out of nowhere and ran right in front of us. I hit it square on, even drove over it with the tires of the car. When I went around the front of the car to check it, the dog was still alive but was in very bad shape. I left the boys in the car for a minute as I ran to a nearby house to let the owner know that I'd just hit his dog. As I'm explaining what had happened to the owner, the dog pushed past me on the porch and trotted inside the house. The guy turned to look at the dog, without a scratch on him, then looked at me and says, 'He seems fine to me.' I looked back at the car and saw Sammy kneeling in front of the car on the pavement where the dog had been lying a few minutes earlier." John shook his head at the memory and looked at Victor. "I put two and two together and it's been a roller coaster ride ever since."

Victor stared at John as he listened. The whole conversation seemed surreal to him. "So, you think this ability was something he was born with?"

John's eyes darkened. "I'm not sure. He had a pretty traumatic experience when he was a baby and it may be a result of that. How or why he is able to do it is a complete mystery. I've done a lot of research on this and have taken Sam to an expert on the subject, but so far nothing or no one can explain any of it."

"I've got to ask," Victor said, "It's obvious your son was given an exceptional gift, for whatever reason, so, why do you keep it a secret? It seems to me that he could help a lot of people."

For a brief moment John seemed very agitated. "No! That's never going to happen! Do you have any idea what could become of Sam if word got out about this? His life would never be the same again. People would either want to exploit him or study him. Hell, I know of some people who would see this as a deformity rather than a gift and would be inclined to hunt him down like some sort of dangerous freak. I don't know where this came from, or what its full potential is yet, but each time Sam uses his ability he's playing with fire." John decided to drive the point home with Victor. "I mean, you seem like a decent enough guy, but your first reaction to Sam was to do whatever it took to have him save a loved one. Just imagine if everyone knew what Sam was capable of. There's no way I'm ever going to let that happen."

Victor's stomach did a flip as John's words rang in his ears. He lowered his head in shame at his behavior toward John during their first meeting. "So what made you change your mind and decide to help me?"

John smiled a bit as he blew out a deep breath. "Honestly, I've been wondering the same thing. I guess it's because I'm also a father and I know I would do the same thing if I were in your shoes. Also, I would have lost my oldest son today if Sam didn't have this ability, and my mind is still reeling from that."

Victor nodded. Whatever the reason John gave for agreeing to help his daughter he was just grateful as all Hell for it. "Yeah, that fall was horrible, and technically, you did lose Dean today, for seven minutes anyway."

John's head snapped up as his brow furrowed. "What?"

"Dean's heart had stopped for a full seven minutes before Sam brought him back."

John's eyes went wide. "My God! That was cutting it too close. Sammy's abilities don't allow him to bring people back from the dead, there still has to be life blood in them. Jesus, he's never done anything like that before."

Victor shrugged, not quite realizing the weight of John's statement. "That explains why Sam was so desperate to get to his brother. He realized he didn't have much time left before Dean would be unreachable for him."

Thinking back on that conversation made John shiver. He tried to shake it off as he waited for Hendricksen to contact his mother and arrange the meeting. John had already called Bobby, and although he hadn't thought it was a very smart plan, Bobby had agreed to it and would meet them all at an abandoned airstrip by 8 p.m. Bobby hadn't ventured off too far with the boys, and was actually only two towns away.

A moment later Hendricksen unlocked the cell door and announced. "Everything is all set. It's time to hit the road."

SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN

The sun was just starting to hang low in the sky and dusk was casting long, stretched out shadows as Victor's car parked in the open field at the airstrip. Outlines of old runways lined with bright yellow and white paint could be seen, along with several old light towers. There was a large building looming in the distance that once housed travelers, but now seemed gloomy and dark.

Bobby's car was already there, and as Victor shut down his engine he could see the burly, bearded man with an old beat up baseball cap walking in their direction. He leaned against the passenger door and looked in the opened window at John. Victor had handcuffed one of John's hands to the inside door handle, just to make sure that no sneaky escapes could be done. Bobby noticed this, but didn't comment on it.

"The area's clean. I already checked it." Bobby offered as he peered toward the driver's side at Hendricksen. "You made sure he isn't carrying, right?"

John grumbled a bit at the obvious, but offered a smile to Bobby. "Yeah, he's good. I made sure. This isn't my first day on the job, ya know. Are the boys okay?"

Bobby turned and looked back toward his car, parked about 100 yards away. "They're fine, a little freaked out by this morning's events, but fine." Bobby looked around the field. "Where's the grandmother and the girl?"

"They'll be here in just a few more minutes." Hendricksen offered. "It takes my mom a while to get my little girl ready for a car ride. The driving can make her pretty sick, but they left just after we did, so I'm sure they'll be right along."

Bobby nodded but made no facial expression toward him. "'Kay, and you're gonna stick to your word on this one. As soon as this is all over, we're driving away. All four of us."

Victor held up his hand as if swearing under oath. "Yes, you have my word. I swear. After this, I'm going to let all of you drive away, just like we planned."

Bobby raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Oh, yeah, I know you are. You may have come here unarmed, but I sure as Hell didn't." He pulled back his flannel overshirt enough to reveal the sidearm he had tucked into his belt. "There won't be any trouble, unless you decide to make some."

The site of the gun made Victor very uneasy. "Look, man, my little girl's gonna be here any minute. John and I already told you that I'm unarmed and not here to pull any double crosses. The gun really isn't necessary. No one needs to get hurt."

"And no one's gonna get hurt as long as you keep things within the plan. My only concern is for the boys." Bobby huffed as he pulled his shirt back over the weapon. "They've been through Hell today, and I'm not risking having them witness or be part of any other catastrophes."

John seemed slightly annoyed, but backed Bobby up. "Don't worry, Hendricksen." He comforted. "Everything's going to be just fine. Just concentrate on the reason why we're here."

As if on cue, a set of headlights could be seen approaching the field. Victor immediately climbed out of the car and jogged over the meet his mother before she got too close to see who was in the patrol car waiting for them. He was careful to take the car keys with him.

Alice had been told by Victor that she needed to bring Tori out to meet him here, but he never told her why. Curiosity was getting the best of her, and she demanded to know what was happening that was so important that she had to bring her grandbaby out, especially after having just spent a good part of the day in the hospital.

Victor shook his head at his mother as he quickly opened the back door of the car and scooped Tori from her booster seat. "Ma, I just can't explain that to you, but it is important, very important. You just have to trust me." He closed the car door and turned to face Alice as he cradled his sleepy daughter in his arms. "You will need to wait here for a while. Hopefully it won't be very long."

This was not going to be enough to pacify Alice. "Victor! I demand an explanation, now! What's going on here that I can't see? What are you going to do? Who are those people in your car?"

Victor understood his mother's concern. Tori was her granddaughter, so naturally she would be very apprehensive as to what was happening and worry about her wellbeing. However, part of the deal was that Victor tells no one, not even his closest relatives, and he was too close to blow the deal now. "They're specialists, Ma, and I've finally convinced them to take a look at Tori. Don't worry, we'll be fine. This is a good thing, Ma."

"Specialists? And they're meeting you here? Why couldn't they see you in an office, with an appointment?" Alice shook her head. "No, Victor. Something's wrong here. This isn't right."

Victor was starting to lose his patience. "Ma, trust me. It's okay. They've helped people in our situation before with exceptional results. I really believe they can help us. You just need to wait here, please. Promise me that you will."

"Are they doctors?"

Victor took a deep breath and tried to think of a plausible explanation to what was going to happen. "They're not licensed doctors, but they treat people spiritually, Ma. Their work revolves around holistic treatments, diet and faith." Because Alice was a devout Christian, he hoped the last part of his lie would be enough to get her to cooperate. "You've been telling me right along that I needed to have faith, and I've tried everything else, so I thought their treatment couldn't hurt.

Alice still wasn't convinced about this at all. However, this was the very first time in years that Victor seemed hopeful, and since none of the other doctors had been able to offer that kind of hope she let him do what he felt he needed to do. "Okay, but don't let them give her any medicines or anything until we get it double checked with a doctor who actually _has_ an office….and a license."

Victor agreed in an attempt to pacify his mother. He turned and quickly walked back to the patrol car. On the far side of the car, opposite from where Alice was parked, Bobby had laid a blanket down on the grass. Victor set Tori down on the blanket and kneeled down behind her, propping her back against his chest to help support her.

John opened the passenger door and exited the car. This shocked Victor, who immediately noticed that John was no longer handcuffed. John gave Victor a slightly self-satisfied smile, but remained quiet.

"Okay," Bobby began, "I'll go back to the car to wait with Dean and send Sam over to you." He turned to Victor and his expressions softened as he continued. "Best of luck to you and your family, Sergeant….. And stop arresting the good guys."

Bobby went back to his car and a few minutes later Sam's silhouette could be seen shuffling toward the patrol car. The sun had officially set by now and the dark evening helped keep Sam's identity hidden from Alice, who could see nothing but shadows moving around.

As he approached the patrol car, Sam was visibly nervous. He meekly looked from Victor, who he recognized from earlier in the day, to his dad.

"Did I get you in trouble, Dad?" He asked.

John smiled at him. "No, son, you didn't. I'm fine and everything's going to be okay." John placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder. "You remember Sergeant Hendricksen, don't you?"

Sam eyed Victor cautiously; still not quite sure of what was going on.

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, this is his daughter, Tori. She is five years old, but isn't feeling very well. In fact, she hasn't been feeling well for a while now, and we were hoping that you could help her."

Sam seemed confused at his father's statement. "How?" He asked.

John leaned down and whispered something in Sam's ear. When John finished speaking, Sam's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped open. He gave an incredulous look to John, not believing what he had just heard. "But, you told me to never…."

"I know what I told you, Sammy, and you're right. But in this case we're making an exception. I'm breaking my rule this one time to help little Tori, here." John crouched down to get eye level with Sam. "So what do you say? Do you think you can you help her?"

Sam looked at the small girl on the blanket lying against her father. He instantly felt sorry for her, as she looked so small and weak. It was hard for Sam to believe that she was only two years younger than him. He looked back at his father and nodded.

John smiled at Sam and stood back up. He turned to Victor. "You'll need to back away a little, and no matter what you see happen, you cannot touch either Sam or Tori until Sam is completely finished. Understood?"

Victor immediately rose to his feet, resting his daughter's head on the blanket. "Yes, understood."

Sam slowly approached Tori, who was now fully awake and looking up at Sam. She seemed a little nervous, but Sam smiled down at her and tried to comfort her.

"Hi," he greeted her. "I'm Sam. What's your name?"

The little girl acted shy at first, but then gave a small smile. "Tori." She answered.

"Hi, Tori." He continued. "I need to put my hands over your heart just for a second, okay? I promise it won't hurt at all."

Tori nodded, but gave a frightened look toward her dad. "Is it okay, Daddy?" She asked.

Tears started welling in Victor's eyes as he nodded to her. He fought the tears back as he knew that if Tori saw him getting emotional it would upset her. "Yes, sweetheart, it's okay. He's going to help you feel better."

Sam kneeled down on the blanket next to Tori and took a deep breath. He placed both his hands on her chest and closed his eyes in concentration. Within seconds Sam pulled his hands away quickly and jerked his body backward, as if he had touched something very hot or had received an electric shock. He looked up in confusion at his father and Victor, who were now standing next to each other.

Sam's strong reaction startled John. "What is it, Sam?" He asked.

Sam rubbed the palms of his hands on his jeans. "Something's different." He answered, shaking his head and frowning. "This feels different, like….hot or something burning inside her. I didn't expect it to feel like that."

John scrubbed his face with his hand. "What are you saying, Sam? Can you reach it and take it away?" He asked softly.

Sam approached Tori again. Although Sam had felt a jolt when he touched her the first time, Tori seemed unaffected by what had just happened, as if she hadn't felt a thing. Sam again brought his hands over Tori's chest and let them hover there for a moment as he braced himself for what he might encounter. He took another deep breath, closed his eyes and set his hands down on the girl.

Within seconds Sam's body tensed and his teeth clenched tight. He was very visibly in distress as he tried with all his might to keep his small hands in place over the girl's heart. After holding them there for about ten full seconds, Sam couldn't take the painful sensation anymore and pulled his hands away once again. After the connection was broken, he aggressively tried to shake the pain from his hands and wrapped his arms around himself. It took a moment for Sam to regain his composure, and even then he remained out of breath.

John rushed to Sam's side and put his hands around Sam's shoulders. "Are you okay, Sam?" he asked in concern, "What happened?"

Sam leaned against his father for support and tried to catch his breath. Once he calmed down a little, he tried to explain.

"I couldn't see what it was inside her, but when I touched it, it was big, and dark, and _strong_…..and it's _everywhere_. It's swimming in her blood and making her blood sick." Sam made a face. "I know that sounds crazy, 'cuz blood can't get sick, but hers is. And it burned really bad when I tried to take it away."

John gave Sam's shoulders a squeeze and pressed his lips to the top of Sam's head. "It's okay, Sam. You tried your best and that's all I can ask."

Victor seemed dazed by what he was hearing. Once everything clicked in Victor's head, he became upset. "Wait….that's it? It's over? But, it didn't work. She's still sick…I don't understand what's happening…why isn't it working?"

John stood so he could talk to Victor. "I never really thought about it, but while Sam does have the ability to heal, he's never tried to cure anyone of an illness. Evidently healing and curing are two different things." John knew that although the explanation made sense to him, it wouldn't be very comforting to Victor, and he braced himself for a strong reaction.

"But, Dean was DEAD, for Christ's sake! If Sam can fix that, he should be able to fix anything!" Victor was beginning to raise his voice, and John knew that Sam would be feeling bad about this whole mess enough on his own without being made to feel worse, so he tried to protect Sam from hearing Victor. He took Victor by the arm and led him away from Sam about ten steps.

"I know he did. You're right. But you have to keep in mind that Dean died as a direct result of his injuries from the fall. Otherwise he was perfectly healthy. Once Sam healed the injuries, Dean's body was able to recover. The same went for the bird and the dog that I was telling you about earlier." John placed his hand on Victor's shoulder. "Look, man. I'm really sorry about all of this. I honestly wish there was something we could do."

Sam could overhear some of what the two men were talking about, so he stood up from the blanket and approached them. As John had predicted, Sam felt horrible.

"Sergeant Hendricksen," Sam explained. "I really did try my best. Honest I did. And, I was able to fix a few things for her. She had a real bad belly ache and a couple of infections that I could take away, and I took her fever away too. She should feel better for a while." He looked up at Victor. "So, that should help her, right?"

The roller coaster ride of emotions was proving to be too much for Victor to handle. He turned one last time to John with pleading eyes. "Maybe he could try it again…..maybe he can get it the next time…"

John adamantly shook his head. "No. I can't, I won't….risk Sam's health and safety over this." John saw the crushed look on Victor's face and his heart broke for him, but he remained steadfast on his decision. "Once again, I'm sorry." John took Sam by the hand and started to walk back to Bobby's car. "I hope somehow this all works out for you, I really do."

Victor watched in silent devastation as his last real hope of a miracle walked away. It took every ounce of strength he had to not break down and scream out in agony, but he braced his back, squared his shoulders and turned to his daughter, who was now sitting up on the blanket.

Victor tried to smile through his tears as he asked Tori if she was feeling any better. She smiled up at him. "I do, Daddy. My tummy feels better and my body doesn't hurt so much anymore right now."

Victor sniffed and tried in vain to stop the steady stream from his eyes, but it was of no use. Despite the mess he was on the inside, he smiled back at his little girl. "That's great, Baby. I'm so glad."

Meanwhile, Sam and John were walking back to Bobby's car. Sam was keeping up pretty well with his father's huge footsteps, but kept stalling to look back at the scene on the blanket beside the patrol car.

"Dad?" Sam asked, "What's gonna happen to the girl? Is she gonna be okay?"

John shook his head and tried to be as honest as he could with Sam. "I hope so, Sport. The doctors will do everything they can to help her."

Bobby was leaned up against the side of the car with his arms folded in front of him. "How'd it go?" he asked.

John shook his head at Bobby, "Let's just go." He answered.

Bobby gave a confused look, but opened the driver's door and climbed in. John crossed the front of the car leading to the passenger's door, leaving Sam to get in the backseat on the driver's side. Sam watched as Bobby started the car engine and John closed the car door as he took his seat in the front. Sam then stared quietly toward the patrol car and concentrated hard to listen to what Victor and Tori were talking about. It was then that he overheard Tori's little voice.

"Daddy, why are you crying?" she asked.

Sam bowed his head as he realized now just how serious Tori's sickness was. If she were sick enough that her dad was crying, then it had to have been really bad.

Meanwhile, John turned around in his front seat and faced Dean, who had been patiently sitting in the backseat all this time waiting for this meeting to be over.

"So how are you feeling, Champ?" John asked. "I heard you had quite a fall today."

Dean shrugged but gave a sheepish smile. "I'm fine, thanks to Sammy. Dad, did you know my clock had stopped for seven full minutes? Sammy's mojo must be getting stronger, right? For him to be able to bring me back after seven minutes?"

John shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the thought of Dean lying dead for as long as he had, but kept a solid stature in front of his son. "Yeah, I heard, and when we get back to the motel, you and I are going to have a serious discussion about your actions today, understood?"

Dean didn't answer his father, but instead asked an unrelated question. "Um, Dad? Where's Sammy running off to?"

John and Bobby both faced front again as they watched in horror out the windshield as Sam ran back to the patrol car.

"Oh Jesus!" Cried John, "Bobby, we've got to stop him!"

Both men dashed out of the car and chased behind Sam, but Sam was too far ahead for them to catch up in time to stop him. Upon reaching the blanket again, Sam immediately fell to his knees and pressed his hands tightly against Tori's chest and closed his eyes. "Don't touch us," he instructed Victor, who was kneeling on the blanket, shocked to see Sam had come back. "I'm gonna get it this time, I'm gonna save her!"

**TBC**

_**Whew! That was a long chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, but life has been particularly hectic, and I didn't want to rush this chapter, as I felt it held a lot of information. I've been working long hours at a new job, so I haven't had a lot of time to proofread as I went along, and I don't use a beta, so I'm hoping that there aren't too many errors and that the flow of the story is done well enough. **_

_**As always, thank you for sticking it out with this, and I hope you enjoy it. One chapter left, and hopefully it will be up within a week or two! **_

_**Please take just a moment and leave a quick review, and thank you to all the anon reviewers and ones who do not have a PM set up. I really appreciate your kind words! **___


	5. Chapter 5

_**I'm so sorry this last chapter took so long for me to post. Life has been busy, and I've had a bit of writer's block, but I finally managed to pound out the last chapter today. **_

_**I thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this, and as always, please leave a quick review to let me know what you thought. It would really mean a lot to me. I had a great time writing this one. Hendricksen is always fun to write, and this was also my first weechester fic. **_

"Sammy NO!" Shouted John as he desperately tried to reach his son before he laid his hands over the young girl's heart, but he was a step too late. The moment Sam made contact with Tori's chest, his whole body seized and jerked forward with the intense vibrations and pain searing through him, but he used all the strength in his young body not to break the connection. Sam's eyes were screwed shut and his teeth were gnashing together in both determination and pain.

The three men were all left as helpless witnesses of the sight before them, as none of them dared to interfere due to the drastic consequences it could have on either child.

"Sammy, please!" John tried again, "Stop! You've done your best, son. We all know that…Jesus, Sam, let go!"

Despite the shockwaves of pain and heat flowing through Sam's body, he was able to respond to his father.

"I've…..almost…..got it!" He cried between clenched teeth. "Just….a few…more…..seconds!"

Bobby stood in awe as he watched the scene. What he saw directly after Sam's words shook him to the core. He looked at John.

"John, you seeing this?" He said, barely above a whisper.

All the blood quickly drained from John's face as he realized what Bobby was referring to.

Victor looked up in confusion at the other two men.

"What's wrong with Sam's eyes?" He asked.

As the healing attempt finally seemed to be coming to a close, Sam had managed to open his eyes. He continued to stare down at Tori as his hands pressed securely down on her, but instead of his usual hazel colored eyes, he was staring down at her with eyes as black as coal.

Before either John or Bobby had a chance to speak, the shaking in Sam's body ceased, and Sam's eyes returned to their regular color. Sam sucked in a deep breath and sat back on his heels as he removed his hands from the tiny girl's body.

As John was about to take a step toward the children to see if they were okay, he saw Dean running toward them at top speed. Evidently he could see from the car what had been taking place and decided he needed to be closer to Sam. As Sam realized that Dean was about to reach him, he shouted a warning.

"No! Don't touch me yet!" He cried as he stared down at his hands. "Something still isn't right."

Sam's words stopped Dean in his tracks just as he was about to reach out to him. John rushed to Sam and kneeled down beside him. "What is it, Sammy? What's wrong?"

Sam shook his head as he continued to flex his fingers and shake his hands. "It's my hands, they're still burning really bad." Sam paused a moment and sat completely still. "It's Tori's sickness. I can still feel it."

Victor and Bobby joined John and Dean on the blanket as they all encircled Sam and Tori. Victor looked expectantly to each person around him. "What just happened?" he asked as he cradled his daughter in his arms. "Did it work?"

Sam didn't answer Victor. Instead he began rocking back and forth on his heels and wrapped his arms around his waist. His breathing grew more rapid and within seconds he was beginning to hyperventilate and perspire. The color quickly faded from his face and his skin suddenly became pale and pasty.

"Dad, I don't feel good. It hurts so bad!" Sam cried. "It started in my hands but now it's all inside my body."

Dean looked to his father with pleading eyes. "Dad, what's wrong with him? What's the matter with Sammy?" Dean wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around his brother to comfort him, but didn't quite dare to touch him just yet.

John looked to his best friend. "Bobby? What are you thinking?"

A horrified look had taken over Bobby's face as he slowly shook his head. "I don't want to say out loud what I'm thinking right now." He answered.

"Well, say it anyways!" John growled.

Bobby scrubbed his hand over his face and tried to keep his voice steady and somewhat objective with his answer, even if the words broke his heart and made him sick to his stomach as they left his lips. "I'm thinking he didn't cure the girl of her illness, but took it from her, and now it's in _him_."

Somewhere hidden in the back of his mind, John had suspected the same thing, however hearing the words aloud were like a punch in the face. His chest began to ache. Victor seemed stunned by what Bobby had said and couldn't accept it.

"No," he said quietly, "That can't be what happened." Victor looked at John. "Why would that happen now and never before? He never took on the symptoms of people he's saved before, did he?"

"He's never had symptoms of anything before." John answered. "Sam has never been sick or hurt a day in his life. Until now I didn't think it was possible for him to become ill or feel pain."

Sam continued to moan and clutch his stomach in pain. A look of panic spread over his face as he asked. "Dad, what's going on? Am I gonna die?"

Regardless of any potential for danger in touching him, John reached out and scooped his youngest son in his arms. He breathed a small sigh of relief when this didn't seem to cause any additional harm to Sam or to him. "Of course not," John managed to say, "You're just having a reaction to Tori's sickness right now, but soon you'll start to feel better. Just give it a little time." He pulled Sam tightly into his jacket and wrapped his arms around him as tears welled up in John's eyes.

Guilt was starting to grip at Victor's chest for the amount of pressure he put on John to have Sam do this for him. Unbeknownst to him, he had placed Sam in grave danger, and as he looked down on the poor little guy curled up in his father's arms he knew this was his fault. "John, man, I am so sorry." He began, "I…..I had no idea that anything like this could happen. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, especially not a child who was only trying to help us. I just wish there was something I could do. I never wanted this."

Bobby's anger and frustration were getting the better of him. "Then why in the Hell'd you call him back?" He demanded.

"I didn't call him back!" Victor argued. "I thought the whole thing was over. John said that Sam couldn't help and I had accepted that. Next thing I knew the kid came out of nowhere and told me to stay back and not touch him. I was just as surprised by it as you were."

Rage and frustration were building up in John, however, a sickening groan from Sam put John's mind back onto the matter at hand and he was able to focus. He turned to Bobby. "What we need is another healer. We need to get in touch with every single person out there that may have any type of connection whatsoever. Finding another one is Sam's only hope."

A frown covered Dean's face as he responded to his father. "I didn't know there were any other healers, Dad. In all the places we've been we've never heard of any."

"Well there's _got_ to be one, Dean! There's got to be another one and we've got to get out there and find him." John roared. "It's that simple"

Bobby scratched the scruff on his chin and neck and offered another idea. "Or, we could try the one you're holding in your arms?"

John gave Bobby a look of confusion and disgust. "What the Hell are you talking about, Bobby?"

Undaunted by John's anger, Bobby shot his answer right back. "I'm talking about the fact that Sam may very well still have the ability to heal, and if that's the case then the first thing we need to do is have Sam try to heal himself."

John was now beyond the point of having any patience. "Are you insane? Look at him! He's too sick, there's no way he'll be able to do anything like that!"

"Look, John. I don't think we have any other choice here. It's either that or Sam dies." Upon seeing the pathetic look on his friend's face, Bobby tried to soften his tone a little bit. "You just said that Sam's never been sick before, right? Well maybe he's stronger than we think he is, but he's just having a hard time adjusting to feeling like Hell warmed over cuz he's never felt that way before. Honestly, what do we have to lose? If it doesn't work then Sam's no worse off than he is now, but it if_ does_ work…."

John shrugged his shoulders and shook his head at first, but very soon after thinking about what Bobby had said he decided to at least give it a try. He pulled Sam away from his chest and made him sit up.

"Okay, Sammy," John began. "I need you to be strong right now and do something for me. Do you hear me?"

Sam's eyes were filled with tears from the pain he felt and he wanted nothing more but to curl back up against his father's chest and feel the warmth coming from beneath his leather jacket. "No," Sam answered, "I can't. I feel too yucky right now."

"Come on, Sam. I just need you to do this one little thing, then you can go back to sleep."

Sam adamantly shook his head as he tried to return into John's arms. John looked up at Bobby again. "I don't think he can do it." He explained.

"Oh for Christ sake, John," Bobby chastised. "It's high time you grew a set and put your foot down." Bobby braced himself for what he had to do and turned his attention to Sam. He took Sam off John's lap and sat him down on the blanket.

"Sam, you listen to me and you listen good." Bobby began. "You've got the power to make yourself feel better, but first you've got to stop your belly aching and focus on what needs to be done. Now you sit up, stop crying and use all your strength to get that illness out of your body." Sam continued to shake his head as Bobby spoke, but before he could tell Bobby 'no', Bobby gave one final warning. "And if I hear 'no' or 'I can't' come out of your mouth one more time, you're going over my knee. You hear me, boy?"

Dean shot up and defended his little brother. "You can't do that! He's sick. You can't threaten a sick kid!"

Bobby shot a warning glance in Dean's direction. "That goes double for you, hot shot."

Even as sick as Sam was feeling, the threat of being punished by his Uncle Bobby made Sam's eyes widened in fear. He shot a quick glance to his father and, seeing that he was not going to come to his rescue, finally nodded.

"Yes, sir." He replied weakly as he forced himself to sit up.

Bobby smiled at Sam's determination. He just hoped like Hell his plan worked. He would have a very hard time living with himself after the way he had just spoken to Sam if it didn't. "That's my big boy." He encourage. Bobby placed his hands on Sam's shoulders as he gave him a pep talk.

"Now Sam, your healing powers are still inside you, you've just got to look past the pain you're feeling and get to it. You've got to really concentrate and make yourself better. I know you can do this, but you've really got to focus and work really hard. Now go to it!"

Bobby backed away a step to give Sammy some room. Sam lay back on the blanket, closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He took a few deep breaths and within a moment he seemed to relax.

Victor, who had been sitting with Tori resting in his arms, watched in anticipation, expecting something to happen. After a moment of Sam laying there motionless, he looked to Bobby. "Do you think he fell asleep?" He asked.

Victor no sooner got those words out of his mouth when Sam's head shot back and his back arched completely off the blanket. Everyone moved back a bit as Sam writhed around, twisting back and forth and from side to side with his eyes screwed shut and jaw clenched tight. This continued for several grueling seconds and it appeared as though Sam was having some type of seizure.

John watched on in horror as if frozen in fear. He wasn't afraid of many things, after all, he did hunt monsters for a living, but this sight before him scared the Hell out of him. He silently prayed that somehow his boy would come out of this alive and well.

Dean was beyond terrified. He looked back and forth from his brother to his father, wondering when this would all be over and they would be able to just get back in the Impala and drive away.

Suddenly, Sam's eyes shot open, he opened his mouth wide and let out a roaring scream as a giant burst of white light flew out of his chest and straight up into the night air. A moment later, everything went silent and dark as the white light disappeared and Sam lay still and lifeless on the blanket.

The sight of young Sam laying there caused both John and Dean to stand almost paralyzed with fear. Bobby was the one who stepped forward and kneeled at Sam's side, placing his fingers against Sam's neck.

John tried to speak, but couldn't get his mouth to form the words. "Is he?...Does he have a ….." He managed to stammer out.

Bobby turned to John and nodded. "Yeah, he has a pulse." He then placed his hand on Sam's chest. "He's got a good heartbeat and is breathing pretty steady too."

Upon hearing this, John could once again take a breath in and moved to Bobby's side next to Sam. Dean scurried with his father to move closer to his brother as well.

John gently shook Sam's shoulder and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Sammy?" he prodded, "C'mon, Sammy, it's time to wake up."

Sam moaned softly and began to stir. He then opened his eyes and stared at his surroundings in confusion. "Dad?" he asked. "What happened? Did I get knocked out?"

John smiled, "Yeah, something like that. How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Sam pulled his upper body forward and rested back on his elbows. He thought for a moment and answered. "Yeah, I feel fine."

Dean was so elated to hear this that he began to laugh out loud in relief. A huge smile beamed on his face as he spoke. "That's because you're one tough son of a bit…I mean, gun!" This made Sam laugh as well.

Bobby helped Sam sit up the rest of the way and rested his hand against Sam's back. "So, is the sickness gone? Did you knock it out of your body?"

Sam pressed his hands tentatively against his chest and closed his eyes for a moment. He then reopened them and smiled up at his family. "Yeah, it's gone…..all gone. I'm fine."

Victor took a few steps forward anxiously with Tori and sat her down next to Sam. "What about my daughter? Were you able to get all of it out of her too?"

Sam crawled a few feet over to Tori and placed his hand on her. He smiled after a moment and nodded at Victor. "Yes, sir. It's all gone from her too. She's all better now."

Victor's heart swam in his chest as he threw his arms around his daughter and began to cry. He hugged her tightly and buried his head into her small jacket. "Oh, thank God….thank God….thank God!" He cried. Then, coming to his senses, Victor gently let go of Tori and pulled Sam into a big bear hug. "What am I saying?" He asked as he pulled out of the hug and held Sam by the shoulders. "I mean, Thank you, Sam Winchester. I will never forget the wonderful gift you gave to me and Tori tonight. You and your family will always be in my thoughts and prayers." He then looked at the rest of them, "Always, I mean that. I can never repay you for what you've given us tonight."

John and Bobby smiled at Victor, but just as John was about to speak, a woman appeared from the other side of the patrol car. "Victor?" She said, "What on Earth is going on?"

Victor addressed his mother as she approached him. "Ma, you promised you would wait in the car for me."

Alice shook her head at her son. "Well that was until I saw that huge beam of light come from the sky to where you and Tori were standing. What in God's green earth was that? Is everything okay over here?"

Victor scooped Tori up in his arms, walked over to his mother and gave her a hug. "Yes, Mom," He answered. "Everything is just perfect. Now let's go home." As he led his mother back to the car, he turned one last time toward the family of Winchesters/Singers and waved. A tear-filled smile covered his face as he looked up toward the Heavens. Everyone watched as the three silhouettes slowly disappeared into the night sky, and a few moments later they were watching the car's headlights drive out of sight.

Dean was the first to speak. "So…can we go now?"

John chuckled a little as he ruffled the hair on his son's head. "What? Not enough excitement for you tonight?" he chided.

"No, no." Dean answered. "That was PLENTY enough excitement for me, thank you very much, but, I'm getting hungry and could really go for something to eat!"

"Me too!" Sam chimed in.

"Alright. I saw an all-night diner about twenty-five miles from here. We can stop there and grab some dinner."

"Great!" Dean cheered. "Most diners have great pie!"

Dean and Sam ran ahead to the car and climbed excitedly into the back seat. The two adults smiled at the boys' happiness as they trailed along behind them. Bobby looked to his friend, the smile fading from his face. "So," he asked. "Are we both gonna pretend that we didn't see what happened with Sam's eyes while he was taking the cancer out of that girl?"

A serious look crossed John's face. "For now, yeah, that's exactly what we're gonna do." He answered. "We've known for a while now what happened that night in Sam's nursery, and if it comes down to it then we know what will need to be done, but," John stopped walking and faced Bobby. "In the meantime we'll just keep an eye on him, same as we've always done."

Bobby nodded in agreement, but the ache in his heart remained.

An hour later the family was eating happily in a booth at the diner. It was late, so the only other patrons there were a few truckers and a man using the payphone in the corner. As they were getting ready to leave, Sam told his father that he needed to use the bathroom.

John nodded and turned to Dean. "Dean, take your brother to the men's room. I'm gonna go pay the check."

"But, I don't have to go to the bathroom." Dean answered.

Before John could shoot a warning glance in Dean's direction, Sam chimed in. "Dad, I don't need anyone to take me, I can do it all by myself. Stop treating me like a baby."

John sighed and was about to say something back to Sam, but Sam continued to plead his case. "Look, the bathroom's right there, and no one's here anyway. I'll just be a minute and then I'll be right back."

Exasperated, John shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, go by yourself, but do what you've got to do and then come right back out. I'll be waiting right here for you."

Sam smiled and walked proudly to the men's room. Once he entered, he was a little surprised to see another man already in there. Sam frowned a little bit, as he didn't recognize the man as a customer who had been eating in the diner. Sam continued into the room and used the bathroom. When he finished, he walked to the sink to wash his hands. The man smiled down at him.

"Big day today, huh, sport?" the man asked.

Sam moved his eyes toward the man, but didn't answer him as he reached for the container of soap on the sink's edge.

"I mean," the man continued. "Saving two people in one day, then saving yourself? I'd call that a big day for sure!"

Sam frowned again as he addressed the stranger. "Who are you? How do you know about that?"

"Oh c'mon, Sammy, I'm your number one fan! I make it a point to know about you. After all, you've always been my favorite." The man gave a big creepy smile that covered his entire face.

Sam looked cautiously toward the door, really wishing that he hadn't talked his dad into letting him come in alone. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, and I've got to go." Sam started walking toward the door, but the man blocked his path.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you go in just a minute. But first, you have something that belongs to me, and I need it back now. But don't worry, I'll give you something else in its place."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, becoming visibly upset now. "I don't have anything of yours. I don't even know you."

The creepy smile grew even bigger on the man's face as he placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Yes, you do have something of mine. Well, something I gave you when you were a little baby, but it developed too quickly on you. You weren't supposed to be able to use it for many more years, but something went wrong with it, so now I need it back. I'll replace it with a different one that isn't broken." With those words, a faint sizzle could be heard and Sam pulled his shoulder away in surprise at the jolt he felt.

The stranger took his hand away. "There," he assured. "All better. Now go back out to your family." He then stared down at Sam, and Sam noticed the deep yellow eyes on him. "And tell your Dad I said 'Hello'."

Sam ran out of the men's room and straight toward his father. He tried very hard not to cry as he told his dad and Bobby what had just happened. Within seconds the two men charged into the men's room, looking for the stranger that Sammy had described, but he was nowhere to be found in the empty room.

Confused and startled, John and Bobby gathered the boys and piled into the Impala. A moment later the car pulled away.

The man at the payphone looked out the window as he watched the shiny black car pull onto the highway. "Yes, sir," he said into the phone. "They were just here." He loosened his tie and undid a few buttons on his tan trench coat. "Yes, I will see to it that their memories are taken care of. None of them will remember today. Not the Winchesters, and not the Hendricksens. As far as Hendricksen and his mother will remember, Tori was cured of her cancer by a bone marrow transplant, and the Winchesters and Mr. Singer will not recall Sam having any special abilities, ever." The man stared straight ahead and remained expressionless as he spoke into the phone. "Yes, sir. Consider it done."

He hung up the phone and pushed the diner doors open. He felt a chilled breeze as he stepped out into the night air. Bright blue eyes gazed up toward the sky as he took a deep breath. The man took a few steps forward and then, with the sound of fluttering wings, he disappeared.

**THE END.**


End file.
